It then began to quickly strengthen just before making landfall at 22:00 UTC later that day as a high-end Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 973 mbar (hPa; 28.73 inHg).

In Texas, where the storm made landfall, extensive property damage was reported in the Rio Grande Valley especially in Port Mansfield.

The brunt of the damage was located south of Corpus Christi due to the eye taking a more southward path than originally forecast.

[2][3] The wave slowed and deep convection increased across its axis as it moved through Greater Antilles and the Southern Bahamas, although unfavorable upper-level winds kept it from organizing.

[2] This was confirmed by banding features becoming evident within the newly formed system and hurricane reconnaissance aircraft data indicating tropical storm-force winds inside the nascent storm at around 03:00 UTC that day.

[6] Despite being a large and sprawling storm surrounded by dry air, Hanna continued to steadily intensify as it approached Texas, defying forecasts by strengthening faster than anticipated.

Microwave imagery around 19:44 UTC on July 24 showed a developing mid-level eye within a significantly improved inner core of convection.

These features continue to organize and become better defined as the system moved west-southwestward and at 12:00 UTC on July 25, Hanna strengthened into hurricane.

[9][10] The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) organized personnel and assets from state agencies to assist local preparations for the approaching storm.

[16] While Hanna was not expected to pose a significant threat to the Houston area, local emergency management placed high-water rescue trucks and crews on standby.

[22] The Padre Island National Seashore and beaches along the Nueces Bay and the Gulf of Mexico around Corpus Christi were closed in anticipation of storm-enhanced tides.

[25] At least one drive-through testing site for COVID-19 was closed in Corpus Christi in preparation for Hanna while the pandemic limited the number of emergency management personnel in the Rio Grande Valley.

[26][27] Both the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority and the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council cancelled their bus services for two days.

[41] A FEMA Dome was opened as a shelter in Kingsville at H.M. King High School and the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio was repurposed as a reception center for evacuees with assistance from the American Red Cross.

[42] In Texas, where the storm made landfall, around 194,000 residents in the Rio Grande Valley and surrounding areas lost power due to Hanna.

[45][33][46] The Bob Hall Pier in Corpus Christi was extensively damaged and eventually collapsed partially due to high winds and storm surge.

[59][2] One of these tornadoes briefly touched down and damaged two homes and a hangar in Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport, and moved a Boeing 737 aircraft.

[64] In the city of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, heavy rain and winds damaged tents in a refugee camp housing an estimated 1,300 asylum seekers.

In portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle, the outer bands of Hanna brought heavy rainfall, even threatening street flooding in New Orleans.

[71][72] Due to the extensive damage to property in the southern part of the state, Governor Greg Abbott issued a declaration of disaster for 32 counties affected by the storm.

[74] It was initially reported that federal funds would be provided to tear down Bob Hall Pier due to the extensive damage it received during Hanna.

A worker for the Global Response Management (GRM) and Resource Centre Matamoros (RCM) said that nothing was damaged but a few tents and that they wanted to provide basic human rights for residents at asylum seeker camps.